Chrono Seal
by emimprov
Summary: Two young brothers from Truce find the remains of an ancient being while exploring one day, and unknowingly put the entire universe in peril. What is to be done after the ultimate evil has been destroyed, only to rise once more in a new form?
1. Prologue

**Chrono Seal**

**Prologue: Brothers**

_"Come on, brother. If you want to kill me so badly, then just do it."_

_Felix's sandy hair blew in the wind as he eyed his older sibling carefully. The sand from the dunes whipped into his eyes with the passing breeze, bringing with it a sting of nostalgia. The sand, the sun, the smell of the nearby ocean...everything reminded him of that day. _

_And how easily Claudius could talk of his own death! Especially at the hands of his brother. The creature had warped his mind, that was for sure. Perhaps it would be better to just kill him now and end it here. This was what he was supposed to do, at any rate. For heaven's sake, the entire fabric of the universe might depend on his next action!_

_Felix's hand trembled. "I...I can't do it. You're right, Claude...I've always been a coward." He dropped the broadsword into the sand. It landed with a dull thump. Claudius did not seem to notice the small item clutched in Felix's other hand, however._

_"That's right. You came all this way...only to fail. In a way, I'm glad. It shows that you don't have the heart to kill your own brother." The smirk that twisted Claudius' features was inhuman. The shard he had come across so long ago had done its work, warping his once handsome face into something alien and nearly unrecognizable, quite like the creature that fully possessed him now. It hurt Felix just to look at him. And to hear him talk about having "heart" - the irony pierced him to the very core._

_But remember all he has done, Felix thought. And all that he will do if you don't stop him now. Remember what Magus said. Would he sacrifice himself and, well, everything else that had ever existed and would ever exist just because he couldn't go through with this one simple task?_

_"I'm not going to kill you," said Felix defiantly. He took up the broadsword once again. "Because even if I do, you'll continue to live on in a different time. You know that, surely."_

_Claudius cocked his head to the side, confused. Then he laughed. "What do you mean? I can traverse time more swiftly than you could imagine."_

_"Even if I can't stop you know, I'm going to do this for the brother I lost twelve years ago," breathed Felix, and in the span of a second he covered the distance between them. Claudius looked down in horror to see the blade of the broadsword buried deep within his stomach._

_Tears clouded Felix's vision as he pulled the sword back out, watching Claudius collapse in pain before him. Despite everything, the pain of what he had just done hit him like an arrow to the heart._

_"I'm sorry, Claude."_

_Claudius clutched at his stomach, the blood pooling around him in the dry sand. He coughed up blood at the same time that he attempted to spit out a few words. "This...won't work..."_

_It was at this moment that Felix opened the palm of his left hand, exposing the item he held to the view of his brother. Claudius' eyes widened in surprise and, perhaps, fear._

_"The seal...how did you...?" He paused, coughing up more blood. "You're going to try to stop...all of this, aren't you?"_

_"That's the idea."_

_Felix locked eyes with the man in the cape who stood at a line of trees just out of reach of the dunes, and uttered the spell that would unlock the power of the Chrono Seal._

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	2. The Shard in the Dunes

**Chapter One: The Shard in the Dunes**

For as long as he could remember, Felix was always one to lag behind, never the first to volunteer or the first to offer his opinion on any matter. For this reason he often blended into the background, which was the way he liked it.

Whenever the fair came to Truce, whenever the magicians or acrobats arrived from far and wide to perform for the people of their small village, the young boy stayed at the back of the crowd, watching from afar and usually clutching his mother's arm.

The same shyness overtook him even when spending time with his favorite person in the world - his older brother Claudius. Felix and Claudius - their mother had a liking for old-fashioned names, and this often drew laughter and ridicule from the other village children. Felix was often picked on because of this, but no one dared to breach the topic when Claudius was around as well. Claudius emanated something like a mixture of charm and brash confidence to whomever he met. For a boy of only twelve years, this was an impressive feat of character. Felix would sit awestruck at his brother's side as Claudius told ghost stories around a campfire to the younger children of Truce, and he would stand by and watch as his older sibling took up a sword and practiced with their father in the woods nearby. It wasn't that Felix wished he could be like that someday - quite the opposite. He wanted something different from life, though he couldn't say at that point what it was. Still, spending time with his brother, learning from him - this imbued him with a type of courage that made him believe he would be able to do anything one day.

It was sunny the day that the two boys decided to head to the dunes to play. They loved to pick through the different items that had washed up on shore to see if there was anything they could take back to sell in the village market - tourists loved stuff like that, Claudius had told his brother. Felix tagged along behind Claudius as always, letting him lead the way through the undulating hills of sand. When he tripped and slid down one particularly large hill, Claudius helped him up with a bit of a patronizing smile tugging at his lips.

"Come on, squirt. Race you to the valley between those two dunes over there." Claudius signaled the finishing line for the impromptu race to his younger brother. Felix shook his head violently, not wanting to fall again.

"I'm not going to be able to beat you anyway, Claude. What's the point?"

"Just try," said Claudius, laughing. "You're always so quick to give in. Would it hurt to just give it your all for once?"

"I guess not," said Felix timidly. He stood up a little taller, puffing out his chest a bit. "Alright, let's go."

"That's it! Now, we start here..." Claudius said, drawing a line in the sand with the toe of his boot. He got into a runner's stance behind it, and Felix followed suit. "When I get to three, we go, alright? One...two...three!"

Claudius shot off like a rocket, and to his surprise, Felix wasn't as far behind as he thought he would be. He scrambled to keep up with his brother, realizing it would eventually be futile. Still, he was shocked to discover that he was actually having fun challenging his brother in such a way, even though they both knew deep down that Claudius' longer legs and athletic build would give him an insurmountable advantage. Before he knew it, Claudius had skidded to a stop between the dunes, with Felix coming in a respectable second place.

Felix bent over to catch his breath, only to see that Claudius too had bent down to look at something. Felix followed his gaze to what looked like a sharp shard of rock half-buried in the sand of the dune to their left. It glowed with a dim red light, and Claudius reached out to touch it.

"What d'you suppose this thing is, Felix?" Upon picking up the shard, Claudius held it up to eye-level in order to better inspect its features. It was actually quite large, and much sharper than a normal shard of rock would be. The part that had been buried in the sand bristled with needle-like appendages that looked like they would be harmful to the touch. Nonetheless, Claudius handled the object deftly, turning it over between his hands.

"I have no idea, but maybe we should put it back," said Felix quickly, not sure why he was getting a bad feeling about the object. Maybe it was the strange glow it emitted, which seemed to be getting stronger as he watched...

"Why? We could probably sell this in the market," said Claudius with a cheeky grin. "Could tell people it's a rare artifact from long-gone times..."

"I don't know..."

"Well, at any rate, it won't hurt to just take it back and have someone appraise it," said Claudius in a rush. He chuckled. At that moment, he gripped the shard tightly with both hands, and several things seemed to happen at once.

Claudius let out a howl that sounded like he was being scalded with boiling water, and the shard flashed a blinding red. Felix covered his eyes with his hands as he was thrown backwards from a wave of energy that seemed to rocket from the shard. Claudius, however, stayed perfectly in place. Before he even had time to scream, Felix watched as a strange swirling vortex spun into existence underneath Claudius, sucking him in with an unearthly, guttural accompaniment. Just like that, his brother had disappeared. Nor was there any sign of the red shard. Felix opened his mouth, but he could barely breathe, much less make any sort of sound that could be heard.

He did start, however, when something clasped his shoulder from behind. Felix whipped his head around to see that a pale, ghostly thin hand was grasping him, and that the hand was connected to a tall figure in a swirling purple cloak. Long violet hair cascaded from underneath the hood of the garment, while the eyes remained hidden from view. Felix was too stunned to do anything, and he was afraid he would faint if he made any sudden movements.

"Come with me," said the figure, and another vortex swirled out of nowhere, seemingly at his command. Felix stared dumbly and let himself be pulled into the blackness.

**Next Chapter: The Prophet in the Shadows. Dun dun dunnn.**


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